Chapter 48
Tex
“Ugh…!” Nadia’s sound of frustration could be heard down the hall, so I left the dishes I was washing in the sink and went to meet her at the kitchen doorway.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked.
She stomped in, dropping her handbag on the kitchen counter before plopping down on a stool.
“Greg!” I knew instantly what the issue was. Her boss was a total dick. “That man…” Her fingers became claws as she shook them. “I am an apex predator. If I take fur and rip his throat out, I’d be able to claim in court my instincts got the better of me, right?”
“Bad day at work?” I said, going over to the fridge. “How about a glass of wine?” Staring at the contents, I saw we still had some cake left over from Grey’s birthday. “And some super rich chocolate cake…”
Nadia looked up at me as I stood there, bottle and cake in hand.
Putting them back carefully, I remembered what our group therapist had said.
We’d attended some sessions, not so much to solve issues as to better understand how to be the mates Nadia needed and one thing that stuck out for me was my need to try and cheer everyone up.
The therapist told me in a very kind voice that it was a sweet impulse, but not always helpful.
Shutting the fridge, I sat down beside her.
“Are we venting or problem solving or do you want me to try and make you feel better?”
Her grateful smile had a warm feeling spreading throughout my body.
“Venting.” Her face fell as she glared at the granite counter. “With wine, please.”
“Coming right up.” I poured her a healthy glass full and cracked a beer for myself before sitting down again. “So, what that man do?”
“So he was a raging prick when the whole audit thing was going down.” She took a long sip of wine. “But it was like the power went to his head and now it’s DEFCON 5 every damn day. Emails sent at 8 PM and he expects them to be answered right away.”
My beer can made a crackling sound as my fingers dug into the aluminium. I’d noticed Nadia was glued to her phone lately, but she dismissed our concerns.
“I went to HR and pointed out the right to disconnect laws, so instead he’s micromanaging the shit out of me.
Every email, every report has to be run past him first before it’s sent out, but then it sits in his inbox for ages, because we communicate with people across the whole company. Then it’s my fault things are delayed!”
My hand rose to rub small circles on her back, not so much to jolly her out of this, but so she knew I was here, listening.
“He’s such a fucking dick and any of us could do his work better than him, which I am pretty sure he knows. Our department ran so smoothly before he came along, so he’s creating busy work so his KPIs look good for his next performance review.”
For a while, she talked all about stuff I didn’t really understand. A book keeper looked after the financial sides of things for our business and I was happy to leave them with it.
“He just makes me so damn mad!” I leant over, refilling her glass for her. “Like I nearly shifted in the middle of a meeting and when he saw my fingers turn into claws, he sat his arse down real quick, which just makes me want to trot into the office in wolf form and put him in his place.”
“But you won’t,” I said.
“But I won’t.” When she pressed her head into my shoulder, my arm went around her. “It’s a nice fantasy to think about, though.”
“So, how are we feeling now?” I asked.
“Better.” There was something adorably pouty about Nadia right now. “But I think I deserve chocolate cake for dinner.”
“You got it, omega.”
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I got up and grabbed some plates and spoons before cutting some slices.
“That’s too much…” She eyed the plate, then shook her head. “Actually, it’s perfect.” As I sat back down, my mate watched me closely. “Just like you. I know you wanted to jump in with a solution.”
“Like find out where this dickhead lives and string him up by his intestines?” I shrugged. “Maybe. That’s not going to help you right now though, is it?”
“It might.” She stabbed her spoon into the cake. “Not really, but a girl can dream.”
“A girl can.” I snuck a sidelong look at her. “Are you up for talking about possible solutions or nah?”
“Maybe…”
She’d never lose that wary look, I’d realised some time ago, but we saw it less and less.
“If you hate this job, find another one,” I said. “People don’t leave a job because of the work. It’s always who you work for.”
“The job market is tight right now.”
“But you know we’ve got things covered here. You work because you should have your own money, because you don’t want to be dependent on us, which I respect.” Looking up, I found her watching me intently. “Doesn’t mean we can’t take care of things until you find something you enjoy.”
“Really…” Hope flared to life, then died in her eyes. “Yeah, but Helena. Still haven’t found her a pack of studly alphas to sweep her off her feet. If I leave, she’s going to be Greg’s next target. I can’t do that to her.”
“What if you were both working for our business?” Grey appeared in the kitchen dressed in his running gear. “We’ve got a contract with the book keeper that runs out in a few months. The two of you could handle the admin and financials.”
“Wait, what…?” Nadia looked from me to Grey. “You guys have talked about this?”
“You aren’t happy at your job,” I said. “I know I don’t have to fix all of your problems, but this one… It could work out well for us too. Everything’s done in house, but most importantly, you’d be happier.”
“If you’re concerned about financial security, we’ll add you as a director of the company.” Grey poured himself a glass of water. “You’ll own a quarter of it. Look over the books before you make a decision, see if you think its…”
Her launching herself at him silenced the man completely. With a wide-eyed look, his arms went around her. Too late, because she was pulling away and then hugging me. Yeah, that was much better.
“I feel like we jumped to a solution,” I said, stroking her hair. “You said you wanted me to listen.”
“You did.” With a shake of her head, she pulled back slightly. “That made me realise something. I’m still twisting myself into a pretzel to make some idiot happy.”
“Not us, right?” I grinned when she shot me a sharp look. “Just wanted to clarify that.”
“Not you.” She settled back against me and I felt the moment when she let out a long sigh. “None of you. I don’t know how I’d get through the day without knowing I have my pack to come home to.”
As I smoothed my hand down her hip, glorying at the shape of her, I looked over her head at Grey. He gave me one of those bro nods, then got up and went over to the fridge.
“Well, if you’re going to take over as finance officer, you’re gonna have to eat something better than chocolate cake for dinner,” he said.
“Nooo…” She curled protectively around her plate. “This is my emotional support cake.”
“And maybe start a fitness regime.” Grey dropped a bag of chopped vegetables and a tray of chicken breast on the counter. “You could come running with me.”
“If we do this. If.” She shook her finger at him. “I want it in my contract that that all physical exercise is voluntary.”
“I’ve got some ideas about some physical activities we could do.” I scooped my mate up into my arms and then nodded to Grey. “A team building exercise. Get us all working together towards a common goal.”
For a minute I thought the dense prick wouldn’t pick up what I was laying down, but he set the food aside and followed me down the hall to our omega’s room.
“Communication is very important,” I said, laying her down on the bed.
“As well as being clear about expectations.” Grey climbed on the bed and stared down at Nadia. “Whaddya think, Tex? Three, maybe four orgasms to try and alleviate some tension?”
“Nadia has had a very bad day.” I tore my shirt up and over my head. “Better make it five.”
We got three in before Ethan came home from footy practise, then gave our mate another two in the shower after he arrived.
Dinner ended up being one delivered from the local Chinese place, but the look of contentment on our mate’s face as we settled down on the couch was worth it.
Her phone pinged again, but before she could grab it, I got a hold of it, turning it off, then tossing it further down the couch.
“It’s bad enough that this dickhead gets to pester you during the day,” I said. “If he tries it at home, I can’t be responsible for my actions.”
“Fine,” she said, flopping back on the couch.
“And anyway, how am I supposed to enjoy the porn-ucopia of dicks on the screen if your notifications keep going off?” I said gesturing to the TV.
Her giggle, the way she pressed into my body as we watched the show, then the sweetness of her scent when the horny scenes played out, made it all worth it. I reached over and took the remote from her and then hit play.